X

Samsung phone reportedly emits smoke on flight

Commentary: A Samsung Galaxy J7 in a woman's purse reportedly has to be put into a tray full of water on a Jet Airways flight over India.

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


galaxy-j7-caracteristicas
Enlarge Image
galaxy-j7-caracteristicas

The Galaxy J7. 

Samsung

Phones do sometimes explode. Often the cause seems to be the battery.

However, on Friday, passengers on a Jet Airways flight from Delhi to Indore in India endured a scare when they say smoke began to billow from a woman's purse. 

As the Hindustan Times reports, the plane was already in the air when one of its passengers, Arpita Dhal, noticed her purse -- which she'd placed under a seat -- emitting smoke.

She told the Times that there were actually three phones in her purse, but it was a Samsung Galaxy J7 that was the culprit. 

The J7 is a cheaper Samsung phone targeted principally at emerging markets.

For Dhal, the situation was exacerbated when, she said, the plane's fire extinguishers didn't work. "It was a mid-air panic," she told the Times.

Indeed, her husband said that the crew was forced to put the phone into a tray of water in order to get the fire under control.

Neither Samsung nor Jet Airways immediately responded to a request for comment. 

The airline did tell the Times: "Jet Airways crew immediately took charge of the situation, as also all necessary steps as precautionary measure, and as per the prescribed guidelines."

This isn't the first time that a J7 explosion has been reported. This doesn't mean, however, that the phone has the sort of problem experienced by the Galaxy Note 7, which was ultimately withdrawn.

Sometimes, phone manufacturers examine phones that have caught fire and discover that non-approved batteries or chargers have been the cause. 

Earlier this month, for example, Samsung insisted that an explosion in one of its Grand Duo phones was caused by the owner inserting a non-authorized battery.